The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,112
betrayal.
Oz barred me from flying across the room with a firm arm. “Hold it. No one is fighting anyone. Calem, explain what’s going on.”
Everyone went silent. Astrid and Emelia gathered close to each other with Iov only a step away. Kost inched toward Gaige, finally kneeling beside him. They shared a quiet, weighted glance. Then, Kost fished his bronze key out of his breast pocket and summoned Felicks. His beast immediately turned his attention to Gaige. Calem stood in front of Raven, forehead scrunched in confusion.
Slowly, he raked a hand through his hair and fashioned a lopsided bun. “Like I said, we were attacked.”
“And you brought the monster who did it into our home?” I seethed.
Gaige’s head snapped up. “You’ve got it wrong.” His words ended with a wheeze as he flinched away from Felicks’s tongue. Despite his efforts, the wound simply wasn’t healing. A peculiar, purple-tinted sheen coated the gash, and I swallowed. Yimlet poison. One bite from that beast’s maw, and the skin would instantly start to deteriorate. Felicks’s magic had stopped it from progressing, but he wouldn’t be able to reverse the damage that it had already caused. Kost’s expression turned grim.
“What the hell did I do to you?” Raven ground her teeth and glared my direction, pulling my attention away from Gaige’s wound.
I nearly shrieked. “Everything!”
“Leena!” Gaige struggled to his feet, pressing one hand to his side. “It’s not her.”
Kost stood with him, gaze trained on Gaige’s unsteady stance. “He’s right.”
“What?” I pushed around Oz, and he moved after me. “How do you know?”
“When the bounty was first placed, I met with the woman in charge. When she summoned a beast, there was a currant-colored glow around her hand. She wore gloves, but that means her symbol would be the same hue, right? Raven’s is different.” He frowned at Raven’s exposed hand.
“Kost.” Calem pinched the bridge of his nose. “What the fuck color is currant?”
A harsh sigh scraped through his teeth. “It’s a distinct, ruddy shade of red.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry. It’s a very precise color, and she”—Kost nodded to Raven—“does not have it.”
“Why would I place a bounty on you, anyway?” Raven asked.
Something in me snapped. Maybe Kost was wrong. Maybe he’d missed the true color of her mark. Maybe… I had to know for sure. Thrusting my hand forward, I opened the beast realm door and summoned Onyx. He came without hesitation and stood beside me, cautious eyes skipping from person to person, trying to assess who was the threat.
“Let Onyx judge you.”
Raven glowered. “I have been through enough these past few hours.”
“If you’re innocent, it won’t hurt.” My words were harsh. Onyx glanced back and forth between the two of us, waiting.
Gaige took a shaky step in her direction, but she gently brushed him off. “Fine.”
Onyx sauntered forward, neon-blue light streaming from his golden eyes as he stared directly into Raven’s determined glare. The whole room fell silent. We couldn’t see Onyx’s mental flames, the ones that would burn away past transgressions and determine whether or not someone was worthy. But I remembered what they felt like as my own sins were forgiven. How they’d scalded my body as every memory, every action I’d ever committed, was played on repeat.
Minutes stretched on for an eternity until Onyx finally pulled back. He nudged Raven softly, offering comfort for whatever he saw, and then returned to me.
She was innocent.
Raven said nothing.
“Then, who?” Breathing turned difficult. The floor rushed at me, and I sank to my knees. I’d been so sure. I was going to force her to confess, to absolve the bounty. She was the person who could’ve saved Noc’s life. But now… Now there was no hope. No direction. Nowhere left to turn. The room spun, and I cradled my head in my hands.
Oz looped his arms around my shoulders and guided me an open armchair. Onyx followed, worried yowls quietly escaping the back of his throat. The world quaked beneath my feet. This was too much. Too insurmountable. We didn’t know where to start. Where to look.
A glimmer of relief touched Gaige’s face. “There’s no denying it, Leena. Raven is innocent.”
“Gods dammit,” I whispered, scrunching my eyes shut. Tears pressed against my lids. Wynn had insinuated his accomplice had been someone on the Council. If not Raven, then that left Kaori and Yazmin. But Kaori’s symbol was blue and Yazmin’s pink. Had I misinterpreted everything? Had Wynn had the foresight to lead me down the wrong path so his coconspirator could keep working?